Arizona officers told to expect SB 1070 enforcement scrutiny

by JJ Hensley - Jul. 2, 2010 12:00 AMThe Arizona Republic

With four weeks until Arizona's new immigration law takes effect, police and the public finally got their first look at training material Gov. Jan Brewer ordered the state's police-training board to create for its launch.

The material attempts to clarify some key points and spends ample time reminding officers of the good work they do and training they already receive.

The training material was sent out to every law-enforcement agency in the state this week and released to the public Thursday. But there is no requirement for officers in Arizona to participate in the training, and it is possible that agencies could apply the law in wildly different ways.

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has already announced another immigration sweep for the day the law goes into effect, July 29.

Arizona Department of Public Safety Director Robert Halliday has said the new law doesn't mean he will start to employ Arpaio's tactics.

Brewer signed an executive order for the Arizona Peace Officer Standards and Training Board to create the training material the day she signed the law. The board cannot craft policy for police agencies but does make recommendations, so the training material had some basic goals, said the board's director, Lyle Mann.

Key among them are to emphasize that targeting Hispanic residents will not be tolerated and to offer police a relatively simple explanation of complex issues in Arizona's new immigration law.

The video encourages officers to rely on training they have all had in the areas of developing reasonable suspicion and conducting searches and seizures, Mann said.

"Adults learn best when they can tie a new subject back to something they already apply and do," he said.

The training material also attempts to answer some key questions about when officers can apply the law, though most observers agree those details will likely be worked out through future legislative and court action.

The law, which makes it a state crime to be in the country illegally, requires an officer engaged in a lawful stop, detention or arrest to, when practicable, make an attempt to determine a person's immigration status when reasonable suspicion exists that a person may be in the country illegally.

But the requirement set out in the law does not apply to consensual contact with residents, Beverly Ginn, a Tucson attorney who consults with police departments, tells officers in the training material.

Much like in training material that attorney Kris Kobach provided to Maricopa County sheriff's deputies, the video also covers factors that constitute reasonable suspicion that someone is in the country illegally - foreign-vehicle registration, language, demeanor and whether the stop has occurred in an area where "unlawfully present aliens are known to congregate looking for work."

Paul Chagolla, a deputy chief with the Sheriff's Office, said his agency planned to incorporate some of the new material with training it already requires deputies to complete in the area of immigration enforcement.

"There are times where I listen to what somebody with a law degree has to say and their opinion and their insight," Chagolla said of Ginn. "I think what she had to say in her presentation was right on the spot."

The training also includes a section on types of identification that should immediately end an officer's suspicions about immigration status, including an ID from any government agency that requires people to prove they are in the U.S. legally.

Questions have been raised about whether a driver's license from a state that does not require proof of citizenship would be acceptable.

Officers also cannot question subjects about immigration status until they have read them their Miranda rights, if they are suspected of committing another crime and are being taken into custody.

The training attempts to focus on the value of police maintaining good relations with residents while upholding their obligations to enforce the law.

Tucson Police Chief Roberto Villaseņor, a critic of the legislation, tells officers that they should not allow enforcement of the law to damage their reputations with those they are sworn to protect.

"It doesn't matter to us about immigration status," Villaseņor said. "Because you're here illegally doesn't mean you give up the right as a human being to be safe in all your activities."